Pacific coast

Hurricane Polo has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm while churning off Mexico's Pacific coast. Forecasters are tracking its projected path as residents and authorities along the coastline monitor for possible impacts, including heavy rain, dangerous surf and wind. News outlets are publishing maps of the storm's forecast track as it moves through the region.

The New York Times reports that powerful storms are striking both sides of the United States at the same time, with El Niño conditions being credited for the simultaneous weather extremes. The pattern highlights how the climate phenomenon, marked by warmer Pacific Ocean waters, is shaping storm tracks and intensifying weather across the country, drawing attention to its growing influence.

Two Pacific storms are threatening land simultaneously. Hurricane Nolo is taking aim at Hawaii, while Hurricane Polo, a powerful Category 4, is churning toward Mexico's Pacific coast. Officials in both regions are monitoring the storms' tracks and urging residents to prepare for possible heavy rain, high surf and strong winds as forecasts firm up.

New research indicates the Earth's crust is slowly tearing beneath the Pacific Northwest, drawing attention to geological activity in the Cascadia region of the US West Coast. The finding has sparked discussion among geologists and the public about what the tearing could mean for seismic risk in the area.

A new study finds that more than 70% of coastal areas across the United States are subsiding at rates exceeding one millimeter per year. Land sinking compounds the threat of sea-level rise for cities along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts, increasing flood risk to infrastructure, homes and wetlands. Researchers say the uneven subsidence means some communities face faster relative sea-level rise than global averages suggest.